White: We have to figure out this UnUnified Rules problem

The UFC debuted on November 12, 1993. It was then not a sport but a spectacle, as had been the countless mixed rules contests taking place since the last Olympic Pankration event in 393 AD. The first MMA contest was not held formally under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board’s Unified Rules until September 30, 2000, in New Jersey. The first UFC under the Unified Rules was #28, on November 17, 2000, also in New Jersey.

Thus MMA as a sport is still 16. That growing problems remain was evident at UFC 211 on Saturday night. Texas voted in favor of changes to the Unified Rules regarding a downed fighter at the last Association of Boxing and Combat Sports Commissions convention, but has yet to implement them.

Under the old rules, a fighter is down when even a pinky is in physical contact with the ground. The new rules have a higher, more rational threshold. In the Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier fight, Alvarez was out on his feet but then turned it around, and ended up controlling Poirier.

Poirier had a hand on the ground and was kneed in the face. He had a hand on the ground and was kneed in the face again. Under the old rules, still in effect in Texas, Poirier was down. Under the new rules, he was not. Then Poirier dropped to all fours, down under any rules, and was kneed a third time so hard for a time the fighter could not see properly.

Referee Herb Dean acknowledged that the third knee was illegal, but mistakenly thought the first two knees were legal, so called a No Contest. In fact, under the rules in place, Alvarez threw three illegal knees and should have been disqualified.

At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White was asked to address the mess. The UFC boss said former owner Lorenzo Fertitta texted him and said the sport needs Instant Replay. This is available in some states, but again, not Texas.

Fertitta texted me tonight and said, ‘You guys have gotta get instant replay, because that was the wrong call,’ said White, as transcribed by MMAjunkie. We need to work on that.

We’re the guys driving the bus – we’re the guys that have to figure this out. None of the other promotions are going to do it, you know what I mean? We’ve been the one to lead the charge on everything that’s happened in the sport, so we will continue to do that.

The UFC could immediately effect uniformity by refusing to go to states that have not enacted rules they voted in favor of last July (here is one exception – New Jersey voted against). However, White is not inclined to take that heavy step.

I don’t want to limit myself to where I’m going to go, but we’ve just got to figure this stuff out, he said. It’s crazy. You’ve got to remember, the sport is 17 years old. There’s a lot of things that need to be fixed. This whole sport is a work in progress.

As Fertitta noted, setting aside the issue of a downed fighter, enacting instant replay across the sport is long overdue.